Protecting the Boys
by shopgirl152
Summary: As much as he hates to admit it, Perry has grown rather attached to his new owners. Because of this, the young platypus vows to protect them at any cost. And that includes fighting with one James P. Sullivan, who thought invading the Flynn-Fletcher home was a GOOD idea


**A/N:** So Phineas and Ferb are supposed to be around four or five here. It's probably a moot point, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

* * *

He always slept with one eye open. One eye open to keep a close watch on the sleeping boys. Night after night, it was the same routine: accompany them to the bathroom, stand guard while they brushed their teeth and then usher them to bed before crawling up on the yellow raft that Phineas used as a bed.

Why he preferred this to an actual bed was beyond Perry. But if his young owner sleeping on the S.S. Phineas-as it had been dubbed-was good enough for him, it was good enough for the platypus as well.

Perry didn't care where he slept; he just liked being in the same room as his owners. He yawned, glancing around the room. Better than waking up in Candace's room only to be rudely tossed out.

He smirked; that girl could stand to learn some manners.

The platypus yawned again before standing up and stretching, hopping off the low bed. Time to do a perimeter check; the redhead had woken up startled the night before, roughly grabbing him and whimpering, claiming there was a monster in the closet.

He hadn't noticed anything to unusual that night, although he had heard the faint sound of scraping coming from the vicinity of the closet. Could have been nothing, could have been Agent M, his mentor, attempting to have a late night snack.

At any rate, Perry hadn't been able to investigate; Phineas had hugged him tight and after several minutes, the boy had finally stopped trembling and drifted off to sleep, holding the platypus in his arms.

He smiled as he stood on two legs, cautiously easing around the room. It had been nice to be held, although the cuddling was a little tight.

Perry checked underneath the desk, behind a few things the boys had left scattered on the floor and even made sure to check underneath Ferb's bed.

No sign of a monster-or forced entry of one-anywhere. The house was quiet and the only sound he heard was the sound of the boys' even breathing. He smiled to himself and got down on all fours, ready to skitter back onto the boy's bed.

Just then, he heard it. A faint noise, like someone-or somet_hing_-walking across the floor. He jumped to his feet, quickly placing his fedora on his head as he cautiously stepped toward the closet.

Heavy footfalls were coming from inside, getting closer with every step. The platypus held his breath, hand hovering over the knob as he waited. Pretty soon, the footsteps stopped and he could hear the sound of heavy breathing on the other side of the door. The sound of fumbling was heard and the door began to creak open.

Perry threw the door open, his eyes widening; a monster with bluish green fur covered in purple spots towered above him. For a moment, the monster looked taken aback, staring down at him with a look of mild surprise.

The monster only hesitated for a moment, then threw back his head, giving a resounding roar that should have awakened the whole neighborhood.

The platypus cringed at the sound, bracing himself against the gust of wind that came with it. He glanced behind him, wondering how in the world that loud roar hadn't woken the boys.

Then, he heard it. The sound of not just even breathing, but snoring. Coming from both beds. Perry turned to the monster with a smirk, narrowing his eyes and cracking his knuckles.

Perfect.

Before the monster had time to react, Perry kicked him in the shin, causing a howl of pain.

"Hey! That hurts! What did you do that for-ahh!"

The platypus lunged at him, giving his opponent a swift kick to the jaw with his beaver tail before karate chopping him to the ground.

As the monster lay on his back, Perry quickly closed the door behind him before jumping on the monster, elbowing him in the stomach.

"Hey hey hey!" The monster reached down, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and bringing him up to eye level. "Hey, why don't you just slow down a moment you...you...huh." The monster scratched his head, holding Perry closer to his face. "What are you anyway? A platypus-OW!"

Another howl of pain erupted from the creature as the platypus poked him in the eyes with both fingers before biting him, causing the monster to drop him.

Perry did a perfect one-eighty in mid-air before coming to land on both feet. He got down into a fighting stance, beckoning the monster to come near him.

"Oh no. I'm not falling for that. Forget it." The monster shakily got to his feet, quickly turning around. "I'm outta here." He began running down the closet, the platypus hot on his heels. "Geez. You don't give up, do you?"

Despite it being an obvious question, Perry shook his head as he ran; the monster might be better than him in terms of strength, but he had stamina. Suddenly, he stopped.

Wait. Just how long _was_ this closet?

He shook his head to clear it; the monster was getting away from him. The platypus picked up speed, his legs beginning to burn. He was almost there; one more kick to the head and the enormous creature would be down for the count.

But something made him slow down. Out of nowhere, a door appeared up ahead and the monster practically dove through it.

Perry pushed, giving himself one more burst of speed to get to the door...only to have it disappear. He skidded to a halt at the back of the closet, paws frantically feeling the wall for a hinge or the bump of a door knob, anything that would tell him the door was still there.

But it was gone.

The platypus took off his fedora, scratching his head in confusion before putting it back on. The door was just there; how could it just...disappear? He lightly kicked the wall. Nothing.

He sighed, fanning himself with a paw before turning around, ready to resume the long walk back to the boy's room. He went to turn around, only for his bill to hit another door.

He growled in annoyance. What was going on? Was this a trick?

Perry cautiously opened the door, poking his head out. He was back in Phineas and Ferb's room. From the sound of things, they appeared to still be sleeping. He took one last look around the closet before softly shutting the door. He tiptoed into the middle of the room and after one more perimeter check, got down on all fours, making sure to stash his fedora somewhere safe before skittering over and climbing up on the boy's bed.

Phineas was still asleep and the platypus breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he climbed up on the boy's pillow, gently kneading it before curling up and falling asleep.

That monster would think twice before messing with his boys again.

* * *

Sully groaned as he sat up in bed, cracking his back before standing up and trudging into the bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror, glaring at his red, watery eyes. "Man; who knew getting poked in the eyes could hurt so bad?" He glanced down at his shin, wincing at the bruise that was already beginning to form. "Ugh. Great." The monster gingerly wiggled his jaw. "Nothing's broken at least. It could have been worse."

"James! Oh Mr. James P. Sullivan!"

Sully rolled his eyes at the familiar voice at his door. "It's open Mike! Be out in a minute!" He smirked at the sound of his friend opening the apartment door and entering, making himself at home.

The monster reached into the medicine cabinet, quickly grabbing a tube of antiseptic and squirting it on the platypus bite before applying a band-aide. "Better safe than sorry." He emerged from the bathroom to find Mike eagerly waiting at the kitchen table.

"So how'd you like the new door Sully? I mean, I know it probably wasn't as good as the old door, especially considering the glitch it had the night before last, but I'm pretty sure it worked last night. So tell me big guy, how was it?"

He smirked as he sat down, resting an elbow on the table and pointing at his friend. "Get rid of it. I don't want to see it again."

"What? Why?"

"That is the first-and the last-time I get beat up by a platypus."


End file.
